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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26993209">easy peasy rice and cheesy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenwoo/pseuds/tenwoo'>tenwoo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Pining</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:47:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,454</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26993209</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenwoo/pseuds/tenwoo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Confessing to someone isn’t rice and cheesy, ok? It’s terrifying. And nerve-wracking. You wind up just saying shit.”</p><p>He decided to pin it all on Hinata. He was certain that everything bad that happened to him was because Hinata somehow had something to do with it. Kageyama would probably be in the national team by now if it weren’t for him.</p><p>or kageyama pines for tsukishima and buys him all the chocolate milk</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kageyama Tobio/Tsukishima Kei</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>170</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>easy peasy rice and cheesy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The walk home from school had become one of Kageyama’s favorite parts of the day, only second to volleyball practice. He looked forward to watching the sunset as he went down the hill with a steamed pork bun or two on hand. They were relaxing, and after everyone had sifted out to go their separate ways, Kageyama and Tsukishima were the only ones left to walk the last couple of blocks together.</p><p>It was rocky at first- stiff strides and awkward silences. When they did talk, they always ended up getting on each other’s nerves. But after weeks of being forced to spend about 20 minutes every day alone together, they slowly learned how to get along. The insults watered down to friendly banter, and the silences gradually evolved from awkward to companionable. They even got a laugh out of each other from time to time.</p><p>Kageyama found that he didn’t mind Tsukishima’s company all that much. He wasn’t like Hinata or all the other guys on the team who seemed to be fully energized 100% of the time, bouncing around and ricocheting off the walls. Tsukishima’s presence was calming and steady, like an anchor in the middle of a sea storm. For Kageyama, their walks turned into moments of solace after days of overbearing noise and boring lectures he really couldn’t care less about.</p><p>Over time, they settled into a routine of trudging past the same curbs and road signs, wearing their jackets over their sweat-soaked shirts until they parted ways at the forked road. But sometimes, when they felt like it, they would go off-route and visit fun little places around town.</p><p>Today, they were at the playground, both sat on swings and swaying slightly with the wind. It was late enough that the streetlights were on and the place was deserted, except for the two of them. The air was cold and quiet with only the squeaks of the swing and the crunch of the pebbles under his feet to fill the silence.</p><p>“Here,” Kageyama said as he handed a carton of chocolate milk to Tsukishima while he rummaged in his bag to look for his own. He bought them at lunch so they could drink them after school. He figured it would be weird to drink one alone and not offer one to Tsukishima. It was probably rude. Or something.</p><p>“Thanks,” Tsukishima said, taking the milk with a slight look of disbelief in his face. “I didn’t know you could be so thoughtful.”</p><p>“Idiot. That one got caught and dropped with the one I bought by accident.” Kageyama turned away as he ripped the corner of his carton and stilled on his swing. He felt the heat creep up to his cheeks and to the tips of his ears.</p><p>“If you say so.” Tsukishima chuckled, looking sideways at him. He took a swig before inspecting the box with furrowed brows. “I’ve never had this before. It’s pretty good.”</p><p>There was a flutter in Kageyama’s stomach, which he thought was completely misplaced. Tsukishima wasn’t even complimenting him; he was talking about the milk. Maybe he liked the idea of doing something that pleased Tsukishima. A near impossible feat, honestly. He made a mental note to buy him more tomorrow. They only kept about 5 cartons of that brand of chocolate milk in the vending machine. He considered buying them all in the morning in case they ran out.</p><p>He shook his head to brush off that train of thought. He had been having a lot of similar unwelcome reactions towards Tsukishima lately. The feelings he had were completely foreign to him, and he hated things he couldn’t understand, so he tried hard to stomp them down whenever they resurfaced.</p><p>“Are you mad at the see-saw?” Tsukishima asked.</p><p>Kageyama cleared his throat and realized he had been glaring at nothing for the past few minutes. “Yeah, I-uh, fell off it one time.”</p><p>“Really? When?”</p><p>“Last week.”</p><p>“Last week?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. “With who?”</p><p>“Just me.”</p><p>They stared at each other for a good ten seconds until Tsukishima cracked a smile. “You’re really weird, Kageyama.”</p><p>Kageyama replied with a muffled “shut up” that he almost couldn’t hear over the pounding in his chest.</p><p>-</p><p>“What are you doing?”</p><p>Kageyama jumped at Hinata’s voice from behind him. He took the 5<sup>th</sup> carton of chocolate milk from the mouth of the vending machine and shoved it in his bag before he zipped it up and turned to face his friend.</p><p>“What?” he asked back. Hinata had a habit of sneaking up at him at the worst times. He came to school 15 minutes earlier for the exact reason of not wanting Hinata to catch him doing anything suspicious, but it was uncanny how he seemed to know what Kageyama was always up to. Hinata must have had dog powers that enabled him to smell fear. Or at least sniff out whatever Kageyama was hiding.</p><p>“Why did you clean out the chocolate milk supply?”</p><p>Kageyama scowled. He hiked his backpack up on his shoulder and started fidgeting with the strap. “What are you even doing here this early?” he hissed, hoping they could move past the topic.</p><p>“Natsu woke up early. So, she woke me up early. And now we’re here, trying to figure out why you’re acting like you just committed a crime.”</p><p>The two of them stood there face to face. Kageyama blinked slowly. He took a deep breath, and then broke into a full sprint to the locker room, shoving past Hinata in his way.</p><p>“Hey!” Hinata shouted, shaking his head before running after him.</p><p>Kageyama raced towards the stairs at maximum speed before he slipped on a small puddle of mud.  He landed shortly on all fours and Hinata dashed up from behind and overtook him. He glared at Hinata’s back as they both ran up the stairs, then he pulled on the sleeve of Hinata’s jacket as they reached the landing. Kageyama gained the lead when he felt his collar digging in to his neck as he was dragged to the ground. He retaliated by grabbing Hinata’s leg, which caused them both to fall on the floor in a tangle of limbs, pushing each other down and trying to get the upper hand.</p><p>Just as Kageyama managed to roll them over, a booming voice came from the locker room door.</p><p>“Stop messing around!”</p><p>Daichi stood with the keys dangling from his fingers. He had a glower on his face that sent shivers down their spines. They stood up and dusted themselves off, slightly out of breath with their eyes darting around the floor.</p><p>“Too much. Way too much,” Daichi scolded. He stabbed the key in the door and swung it open, still holding the same expression. “Since you like running so much, do 4 extra laps around the gym for warmups.”</p><p>“Yes, captain,” both of them grumbled and waited for Daichi to enter the locker room before they turned to glare at each other. Kageyama was silently thankful to Daichi for the 4 laps he would gladly take to keep Hinata’s mind off this morning.</p><p>-</p><p> Lunch time rolled around, and a nest of orange hair greeted Kageyama with a, “So about the chocolate milk,” and he knew the rest of break time would go downhill from there.</p><p>He dropped his head to his desk and groaned into it.</p><p>“Relax, I was just going to ask if I could have one.” Hinata laughed and patted Kageyama’s shoulder.</p><p>“No,” he said.</p><p>“Tell me about it, then. What were you doing at 6:17 in the morning all crouched down and shifty-“</p><p>Kageyama’s hand shot up to clamp Hinata’s mouth shut. He cursed himself for not being a better judge of character and failing to choose nicer, less annoying friends. “If I give you one, you’ll stop asking me about it?”</p><p>His hand shook with Hinata’s head as he nodded. Kageyama reached in his bag, then shoved the carton of milk in Hinata’s chest.</p><p>“Ah, my favorite flavor- warm and shaken up in your bag.”</p><p>“Just drink it.”</p><p>They got up and made their way out of the classroom to the tree where the usually sat for lunch. As they walked, Hinata tore open the box of milk, swung his head back and gulped, drinking the whole carton in 2 seconds flat. He made a satisfying ah sound and licked his lips clean. Kageyama stared in horror at the traces of the milk still left in the corners of his mouth.</p><p>“You’re an animal.” Kageyama grimaced.</p><p>“What? I’m thirsty.” Hinata wiped the leftover milk with his sleeve then volleyball served the box into a trash bin. In his mind, Kageyama pictured a time before high school when he didn’t know Hinata. Peaceful energy blanketed over his body. He tried his best to tune out Hinata and focus on those perfect, immaculate moments he had taken for granted.</p><p>“Wait for me. I’m gonna go take a piss,” Hinata said.</p><p>Kageyama grunted in response and leaned his full weight on the wall beside him. That day was a whole week in itself, and it was only 11 am. He banged his forehead softly, repeatedly on the wall. Every thump a prayer for the day to be over. Please. Please Please.</p><p>This was all Tsukishima’s fault. He just had to go and make Kageyama feel weird things. How did that even happen? He could have sworn they used to hate each other’s guts. Now every time Tsukishima smiles, or laughs, or breathes Kagayeama’s insides fluttered.</p><p>Maybe he accidentally swallowed a clump of caterpillar eggs and now a bunch of butterflies were living in his stomach and his heart and got particularly finnicky when Tsukishimi was around.</p><p>Yup. That was probably it.</p><p>He squinted his eyes and went back to thumping his head on the wall.</p><p>“So, you’ve finally lost it.”</p><p> Tsukishima was standing beside him with a smirk. There he went again, with his smug face and stupid, fluffy hair making Kageyama’s day ten times better just by being there.</p><p>“Just about.”  He straightened himself up and faced Tsukishima who chuckled at Kageyama’s visible distress. He mussed the hair on his forehead which he figured had a red mark on it from all the head banging.</p><p>“I know school’s way too hard for you,” Tsukishima teased. “If you ask me, maybe I’ll consider teaching you.”</p><p>Kageyama groaned inwardly. He had spent enough time to know that beneath the veiled teasing, that was Tsukishima offering to help him out; he was being nice. And that was totally unfair because Tsukishima wasn’t supposed to be nice. He was supposed to be an asshole who was rude, and arrogant, and made everything way more difficult than they had to be just because. He’s not allowed to be tall, and smart, and attractive, and now possibly even actually care for Kageyama? Completely messed up and uncalled for.</p><p>“No, it’s not school.” He slumped his shoulders and sighed. He was pretty sure he was pouting at this point, but he couldn’t help it if something was tugging hard in his chest and it was honestly starting to hurt.  “It’s nothing, I just feel kind of tired these days.”</p><p>Tsukishima didn’t respond for a few moments. A line formed in between his eyebrows, and Kageyama started to squirm under his gaze. “Let’s go to the park after practice on Monday. I can’t today, my brother’s picking me up for a dentist appointment. But Monday.”</p><p>The park? But the park was on the other side of town, and it was noisy, and full of people. They usually went to quiet places where no one would find them, where no one would hear their whispers, places that felt like their secret. Why did he want to go to the park now?</p><p>“Unless you’re busy.” Tsukishima said, his ears tinted a barely noticeable shade of pink.</p><p>“Yeah, let’s go,” Kageyama answered hastily after realizing he probably took too long thinking about it. “I’ve been wanting to see the ducks.”</p><p>“Cool.”</p><p>Tsukishima’s shoulders relaxed by an inch. “By the way, I tried getting some of that chocolate milk, but they ran out. I didn’t know it was so popular.”</p><p>Kageyama’s hand was in his bag before Tsukishima finished his thought. His arm stretched out, holding a box chocolate milk at the end. It hung there for a few seconds as Tsukishima stared at it.</p><p>“The vending machine dropped two of them, again.”</p><p>Their fingertips brushed as Tsukishima took it, and Kageyama rubbed at the lingering feeling with his thumb. “Twice in one week? They’re gonna go out of business that way,” Tsukishima said with an eyebrow raised.</p><p>“I know, it’s weird,” Kageyama said, suddenly finding the tree outside truly magnificent and worthy of all his attention. How hard would it be to climb it and hide in the branches for the rest of the day?</p><p>“Thanks, anyway,” Tsukishima said. “Guess I’ll go now.”</p><p>“Can’t wait for the park.”</p><p>
  <em>Can’t wait for the park? </em>
</p><p>What the hell was that? Way to not sound eager. Was that even a proper sentence? Kageyama was one second away from ripping all his hair out and running to a different continent. He can move, it’s fine. Brazil sounded like a nice place. He could get a bartending gig at night and play beach volleyball in the morning. The language barrier would definitely be a huge hurdle, but he’ll get over it.</p><p>“Me too,” Tsukishima said, interrupting his plans of self-exile. The lines on the taller boy seemed to have stiffened. He touched the back of his neck before turning on his heels. “Bye,” he muttered as he walked away from Kageyama at an above average speed.</p><p>Once Tsukishima turned the corner, Kageyama dropped his head into his hands and let out a groan that sounded eerily like a dying animal he watched on a National Geographic documentary once. Which was absolutely how he felt right now.</p><p>“No way!” Hinata emerged from the restroom with his eyes blown wide and his mouth agape in a too-happy grin. “You like Tsukishima! Like, like like him! You got all those chocolate milks for him!”</p><p>Kageyama stared and said nothing. This was in the animal documentary, too. If he stayed completely still, it will go away.</p><p>Hinata cackled and patted him hard on the shoulder blade, causing Kageyama to stumble a bit. “Quit it, Kageyama. You don’t have to hide it from me. I think it’s cute that you have a big fat crush on Tsukishima.”</p><p>“I do not!” Kageyama blurted. He kept his hands in his pockets so Hinata wouldn’t see them shaking. “We hate each other. Why would you even think that?”</p><p>“There’s a good echo in the bathroom. I heard your whole conversation. You totally sounded like a pining schoolgirl and I could practically hear you pouting,” Hinata said in a tone that oozed ‘I’m so proud of myself for figuring this out.’</p><p>Kageyama sighed in defeat. There was no getting out of that hole anymore. He had to face the truth and admit to himself that he did like Tsukishima and saying that felt a lot like losing to him, but there was no way to stop it. His feelings overflowed, too strong to keep bottled up, and he couldn’t lie to himself any longer.</p><p>“You look like a puppy that got his tail stepped on,” Hinata said. “So, it’s true then.” His voice softened.</p><p>Kageyma scrunched his face, almost in disgust. It was hard to accept that he fell for Tsukishima, and it pained him even more to admit it to someone else. But it was just Hinata. No matter how much he got on Kageyama’s nerves, he knew he could trust him.</p><p>Finally, Kageyama gave a curt nod, confirming all his friend’s suspicions. Hinata cheered and pumped his fist in the air.</p><p>“It all makes sense now. You’ve been nice to each other lately. And you guys go on those dates after school.” They resumed walking to their lunch spot -Hinata with a jump in his step and Kageyama with his head hung low.</p><p>“We don’t go on dates,” Kageyama said, because they didn’t. And he wasn’t allowed to think they did because it will spark some hope in him that really shouldn’t be there because Tsukishima was Tsukishima and he would never in a million years like him back. “We just walk home together.”</p><p>“And go on little detours around the city and eat ice cream alone together,” Hinata said in a singsong voice.</p><p>“I eat with you alone all the time.”</p><p>“Yeah, in school where we’re basically forced to hang out. All I wanna do after practice is go home and take a hot bath, not spend more time exhausted and out in the cold in my sweaty clothes. Plus, you never buy me anything and you probably want to hold Tsukishima’s hand and kis-</p><p>A dark aura emanated from Kageyama. He threateningly put a hand on Hinata’s shoulder and gave him a look of warning, which seemed to work well enough because Hinata gave up on finishing his thought and just pushed him away, laughing.</p><p>“You have to tell him,” Hinata said, again with the same look on his face he stepped out of the bathroom with- wide eyes and smiling like an idiot.</p><p>“Not even if you paid me.” Kageyama said. He contemplated the idea of Tsukishima finding out how and how much he affected him, how he kept him up at night thinking about where they could go the next day, how he would spend the whole of his allowance to buy all the chocolate milk in the world if it made him happy. He shuddered. There was no way he’d let Tsukishima have the satisfaction of knowing he had that much power over him.</p><p>“Why not? Are you scared? Nervous? Afraid you’ll mess it up?” Before Kageyama could open his mouth to answer, Hinata followed himself up. “Don’t worry too much, Kageyama. Just go up to Tsukishima and tell him you like him. Easy peasy rice and cheesy,” Hinata said, dusting off his hands.</p><p>Kageyama pointed a skeptical look at him. “I have a feeling you’ve never confessed to anyone before.”</p><p>“That doesn’t matter. Point is, you have to tell him how you feel. Don’t you want to be with him?”</p><p>Did he? Two things rushed to the front of Kageyama’s mind.</p><p>First, the image of Tsukishima leaning back, his face straining from holding back a smile, before clutching his stomach and bursting out in laughter at Kageyama’s confession. He shuddered again. A cold, unpleasant feeling crept up his back.</p><p>Second, he thought about their walks – how they could let their feet drag them to the ends of the earth, until their soles wear out. Or they could just keep walking forever, and it would be fine. He thought about being able to lace their fingers together and getting to know how the curves of Tsukishima’s hand felt against his, getting to hold him close to know for sure that he wasn’t as ice cold as he made himself out to be. Right now, Kageyama wanted it more than anything.</p><p>“What if he says no?” Kageyama asked, his voice came out a lot softer than he intended.</p><p>Hinata tilted his head and looked at Kageyama like he was speaking a made-up language. “Then, he’s an idiot,” he said with complete certainty. “Besides, if he does say no, you could move on faster and focus on improving your sucky sets. It’s better to get it over with instead of torturing yourself over it.”</p><p>“They don’t suck, you just don’t hit them, dumbass.” Kageyama frowned. Hinata formed a shield with his hands when Kageyama motioned to hit him.  </p><p>“Well, if you don’t confess, your feelings will eat you up from the inside and swallow you whole.” Hinata said. “That happened to my friend once and he died.”</p><p>Often, Hinata said things that were too ridiculous to deserve a response. This was one of them. Surely, he wouldn’t die if he kept how he felt to himself, he just needed to ignore it, and it will go away eventually, and everything will be back to normal.</p><p>They arrived at their lunch tree and plopped down on the soft patches of grass. The two plucked out their containers and dug into their lunches. They sat in silence and listened to the rustle of leaves and watched people walk by.</p><p>“I’m really happy for you. I was beginning to think you were some kind of robot designed to only be really good at volleyball,” Hinata said, picking at his food with his chopsticks. He wore a smug smile but underneath it all, Kageyama could tell he was being sincere.</p><p>At the end of the day, despite being a pain in the ass, being a good friend was Hinata’s best (and possibly only) redeeming quality.</p><p>-</p><p>Monday morning started with a “You look like shit,” from Hinata, and Kageyama did not look forward to the rest of it.</p><p>The bags under his eyes were darker and more pronounced – the result of a weekend spent tossing and turning in bed, and not in a sexy way. Anticipation and anxiety riddled his sleep. He blamed Tsukishima. It was cruel of him to set it up 3 and a half days before their actual hangout. What did he expect him to do for a whole weekend? Be cool about it?</p><p>Kageyama was anything but cool about it. In fact, he considered multiple times going to the park so he could plan out things he could do and say to seem interesting and have them brought up in a nonchalant way like he wasn’t even trying. Except he tried really hard. He drowned himself in re-runs of volleyball games to keep Tsukishima off his mind, which only worked a fourth of the time.</p><p>As the end of volleyball practice drew closer, Kageyama could feel his nerves vibrating in his fingertips. He found himself throwing glances at Tsukishima the whole practice. A few times, he had caught Tsukishima already looking at him, and both of them would turn their heads faster than Hinata’s quick attack. Every time, he could see Hinata in his peripheral vision grinning ear to ear at him, which made the hairs on his neck stand on end.</p><p>Daichi dismissed them with a “Good work, everyone!” and the team packed up and went on their way home. Kageyama dashed out of the gym and waited at the gate, bouncing on his heels to keep the nerves at bay. His heart was banging against his ribcage at the thought of his and Tsukishima’s not-date.</p><p>It really wasn’t a big deal. They always hung out after school, so this wouldn’t be that different. They would walk around and eat and talk, just like they normally did. Except the park was totally off their route, and they weren’t really on their way home, were they? Nope, don’t go there. This was definitely not a date. Definitely not.</p><p>“Kageyama,” a familiar voice called out from behind him. Tsukishima was approaching with his bag slung over his shoulder and a whole new outfit.</p><p>Kageyama froze in his spot. He scanned Tsukishima from the cuffs of his faded jeans to the collar of his dark blue shirt. He blushed as he saw how the shirt stretched out around his shoulders and his biceps filled out his sleeves. Thank goodness for volleyball.</p><p>Wait. He changed? He’d never done that before. Oh no. Was this a date? Was he supposed to put on nicer clothes? Kageyama touched his neck as he felt his throat closing up.</p><p>“Sorry I took so long, Yamaguchi spilled water all over me. I had to run to my locker to get a spare change of clothes.”</p><p>Kageyama breathed a sigh of relief that didn’t really help that much because his body was all strung up and the date hadn’t even started yet. The NOT date.</p><p>There was nothing to worry about. He was building it up all in his head. Kageyama concluded that their relationship had grown enough that they could spend some time together without the excuse of school or walks home and actually enjoy each other’s company. They might even be able to call each other friends.</p><p>Kageyama waved off Tsukishima’s apology as they started walking to the other side of town.</p><p>It felt natural. When they strode side by side, and their arms brushed on the backswing, With every step and each light touch, Kageyama’s nerves dissipated, as if they left with a sign off of “You’ll be alright.”</p><p>They took the short but scenic route and passed by the antique store, the quaint coffee shop, the phone booth, the rose bushes -all laid out perfectly, like they knew he and Tsukishima had planned to go there that day and it had to be extra special. That must have been it, because Kageyama had been to this street thousands of times before, and he could have sworn the antique store was desolate and dusty, the paint on the phone booth was peeling off, and he never noticed any rose bushes.</p><p>Or maybe it was Tsukishima who was lovely, and his loveliness seeped into everything around him.</p><p>Snap out of it. If Tsukishima could hear his thoughts, he would rather not have any more, ever. He sighed. What has Tsukishima turned him into.</p><p>They crossed the road and reached the park fence where the ice cream man stationed his cart. Tsukishima bought two cones without giving Kageyama a chance to protest.</p><p>“For the milk,” Tsukishima said as he held out a cone with scoops of what looked like chocolate and vanilla but was probably coffee and corn.</p><p>“Thanks.” Kageyama accepted the ice cream and crinkled his nose in distrust. “That cart always has the weirdest flavors.”</p><p>“That’s what makes it fun. Like Harry Potter jellybeans.”</p><p>Kageyama took a tentative lick at the mysterious white ice cream and reeled from the shock. The flavor settled in his mouth and he found it wasn’t half bad. “Alas, coconut,” he said in his best Dumbledore impression, which made Tsukishima laugh, which in turn made Kageyama’s heart run a marathon.</p><p>The two moved to the small, wooden bridge where they leaned over the railing and ate their odd flavored ice creams. The pond was serene under them, only disturbed by a family of ducks floating around in a line.</p><p>“You said you wanted to see them,” Tsukishima said.</p><p>Kageyama nodded and looked straight at the ducks, refusing to face Tsukishima because he remembered the lie he had to come up with on the spot from days ago and the resident butterflies in his stomach have woken up again.</p><p>“That one kind of looks like you.” Tsukishima pointed at one of the ducklings. It was small, and yellow, and had eyebrows that formed a V which gave it a permanent scowl.</p><p>Kageyama blinked at him a few times as he tried his hardest to keep a neutral expression. He managed to hold it for a couple of seconds before he huffed and glared at Tsukishima, ultimately resembling the angry duck.</p><p>“There it is.” Tsukishima poked Kageyama’s cheek and chuckled.</p><p>It was all too much for Kageyama’s heart to handle. He turned his head away before he could do something weird like lean into Tsukishima’s touch. Then, it’d be obvious that he liked him. The butterflies were growing wilder inside him, almost scraping his insides to find their way out. He put a hand to his mouth and willed himself not to hurl.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Tsukishima asked as he faced his body toward Kageyama.</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“You look agitated. And you’ve been acting weird lately.” The hand he kept on the railing started scratching on the wood. “Is something bothering you?”</p><p>Something inside Kageyama wanted out. Just like Hinata said. He couldn’t keep it bottled up inside any longer, and now was a good time as any to let out the truth. Say it once and get it over with.</p><p>“Tsukishima, I think I’m sick.” Well, that wasn’t it.</p><p>“What? From the ice cream?”</p><p>“Did you feed me caterpillar eggs?” Kageyama added hastily. He could feel himself sinking into the hole he was digging himself into.</p><p>Tsukishima scanned Kageyama’s face, then let out an incredulous laugh. “Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I wouldn’t try to poison you or anything.”</p><p>Poison, making its way into him and spreading all through out. His stomach, his insides, his mind, his heart. “That’s kind of how you make me feel.”</p><p>Tsukishima’s smile melted away, his hand tightened around the railing. “Did I do something to upset you?”</p><p>Kageyama opened his mouth to say something back, but he was cut off by a loud vibration that came from Tsukishima’s pocket. He pulled out his phone to look at the screen.</p><p>“I should take this.”</p><p>“Yeah, I have to call someone, too.” Kageyama went to a tree twenty feet away, and then fished out his phone from his pocket.</p><p>Hinata answered on the second ring and was cut off before he could say anything.</p><p>“Confessing to someone isn’t <em>rice and cheesy</em>, ok? It’s terrifying. And nerve-wracking. You wind up just saying shit.” Kageyama decided to pin it all on Hinata. Everything bad that happened to him was because Hinata somehow had something to do with it. Kageyama would probably be in the national team by now if it weren’t for him.</p><p>Hinata cackled so loud on the other side of the phone that it caused Kageyama to move it away from his ear.</p><p>“This isn’t funny!” Kageyama said in a voice bordering on a whine.</p><p>Hinata caught his breath and settled down. “Just relax, okay? It’s just a few words, okay, say it with me: Will you have my babies?”</p><p>“I’m hanging up.”</p><p>“Kidding! Kidding. Okay just say you like him. Count to three if you’re too nervous. But don’t be, you’ll be fine.”</p><p>Count to three. He guessed that could work.</p><p>“Oh my goodness,” Hinata shouted.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“How cute would little blond Kageyamas be? Running around carrying volleyba-“</p><p>Kageyama hung up and took a deep breath before he turned to go back to the bridge when he found that Tsukishima was already in front of him.</p><p>Tsukishima cleared his throat. “That was my brother. He was looking for me. We should probably go.”</p><p>“Let’s stay for a bit.” Kageyama sat on a patch of grass with his legs crossed and tugged on Tsukishima’s arm, urging him to do the same.</p><p>The lamps in the park overshined the faint glow of the stars, the people around them in their own little worlds. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, each waiting for the other to speak.</p><p>Tsukishima was the one to break. “If you have something to say just say it.”</p><p>Kageyama’s head whipped up to examine Tsukishima’s face. There was a sadness in his eyes and his shoulders slumped. Tsukishima looked hurt. Kageyama didn’t even know he could do that. He couldn’t leave Tsukishima to jump to crazy conclusions. He needed to fix it now.</p><p>Count to three, he thought. 1. 2. 3.</p><p>“ilikeyou”</p><p>His sloppy declaration came out as a jumble of words and was drowned out by a shih tzu barking at the sight of the ducks.</p><p>“Huh?” Tsukishima narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.</p><p>Now’s the time. Just say it. Just say it. Now. NOW.</p><p>“I like you.” he said, firm and clear, loud enough only for Tsukishima to hear. Kageyama had a pained expression on his face, one that didn’t usually go well with confessions.</p><p>“You don’t seem convinced,” Tsukishima said with his eyebrow raised.</p><p>“I do like you,” Kageyama said, voice strained. “A lot, actually. It’s hard to say out loud.”</p><p>Tsukishima untangled his legs and planted his feet in front of him. Kageyama saw him blushing before he buried his face in the arm draped over his knees. Tsukishima reached for Kageyama’s hand and interlocked their fingers.</p><p>His voice came out muffled. “You’re extremely lame, Kageyama.”</p><p>The ridges of Tsukishima’s hand were calloused and bony, yet his palm soft and warm, but not sweaty. Kageyama squeezed his hand and rubbed slow circles below his thumb, just like he had in his daydreams.</p><p>They stayed there for what felt like eternity and no time at all. Kageyama found that confessing didn’t solve his problem one bit. In fact, the butterflies were even wilder now, strong enough that they could lift him off the ground and fly him away.</p><p>But at least now, he had something to hold onto.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>feedback wud be appreciated thxx</p></blockquote></div></div>
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